Grand County staff told the Economic Opportunity Advisory Board that a construction project for Mogg Community Child Care received its RCG/RCOG award and an amendment requiring construction completion by March 2026.

"We are in the process of applying for an extension for the 2024 RCOG project," Grand County staff member Melissa Jeffers said of the Mackle (Phase 2, Royal Crossing) RCOG application review. Turning to the child-care project, she said the county had approved an amendment and that the subgrant's contract requires construction completion by March 2026.

Board members asked whether the project has progressed since receiving funds this spring. Jeffers said the grantee received money up front and had spent some funds this summer on items such as a fence and compliance materials, but staff had not observed substantial construction progress. "They were given the money upfront," Jeffers said. "If he doesn't have it completed and we have to either call the money back or extend the contract, and we don't have the paperwork complete, we can't go for next year's RCG either."

Members emphasized the stewardship risk of large upfront disbursements for construction and discussed alternatives used by other jurisdictions, including staged payments or withholding a final percentage until substantial completion. Deborah McKee of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity told the board that counties vary in practice: "Some counties do 100% reimbursement... it really varies from county to county," she said.

The board did not take a formal vote on the Mogg project. Melissa Jeffers said she would contact the grantee (Rob, identified in the discussion) for a status update and circulate that information to the board. The board also discussed building routine progress check-ins into future contracts or grant disbursement procedures.

Next steps: staff will contact Mogg Community Child Care for a project status update and report back to the board. The contract language requires construction completion by March 2026; if the work is not complete the county may either seek repayment or extend the contract per county legal and contract processes.

Details not specified in the meeting transcript include the grantee's full reporting timeline, the exact amounts already spent, and whether the county will seek partial reimbursements or demand full repayment if work is not finished by the deadline.